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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Mangostick?
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Alright, I have to admit it.
I'm no superhero myself.
Even though [Stardust!] was my favorite comic, and I'd read it dozens of times, memorizing all the lines, that was all.
I can't say I know everything about this world.
"Ugh... dammit..."
I quickly grabbed my mask and cloak.
Oh right, and my guns too.
There's no turning back now. It's do or die.
I quickly headed outside.
Hmm... where did things go wrong?
If I had to pinpoint it, not knowing the exact timing was the biggest factor.
I knew the year and season of X-Saint's brother's death, but I didn't know the exact date.
So I just planned based on a guess, thinking 'it probably happened around this time?'
So... I guess I got the timing a bit wrong.
This event, where the thugs kill Lee Ha-yul's younger brother, causing her to turn dark.
I thought this would happen about a month from now, so why is it happening today?
But it was too late to whine. If I didn't stop them now, there'd be no hope.
I quickly changed my clothes and headed towards where the incident was unfolding.
I hope I'm not too late.
***
Lee Ha-yul.
She was currently having the worst time of her life.
"Oh dear, what should we do with these little brats?"
"Mmph! Mmph!"
Inside her small shack.
Though small and humble, it was the only home she and her younger brother had, their sole refuge.
Their precious sanctuary was filled with unwelcome guests.
"Hey, Youngest. What do you think we should do?"
A man stood at the front, looking down at them as he spoke.
The siblings' home was packed with menacing men.
Without even taking off their shoes, these intruders burst in and tied up Lee Ha-yul and her younger brother with ropes they'd brought, giving them no time to resist.
They even taped their mouths shut, completely restraining the two.
A muscular man with a shaved head and a face full of scars.
He opened his mouth.
"Boss. Is this the cheeky little brat who tried to steal your wallet?"
"Yeah... that's right..."
The man called 'Boss.' He had his blonde hair slicked back with wax and wore sunglasses, looking like a typical thug. Their leader, he soon squatted down and looked at Ha-yul as he spoke.
"So this cheeky little brat... dared to try and steal my wallet, huh?"
"Mmph! Mmph!"
Her limbs were tied, and her mouth was taped shut.
Though she could do nothing, she desperately tried to shield her younger brother behind her with her body.
Even in the worst moment, her attitude was to protect only her brother.
And the thugs could sense her resolve.
Ah.
That girl, she cares a lot about the boy behind her, huh?
"Hey, hey. Get this one out of the way and bring out that kid behind her."
"Got it."
"Mmmph!! Mmmph!"
Ignoring her desperate resistance, the thug roughly pulled out the boy from behind her.
What he lifted was a young boy, trembling and crying.
"Mm-mm-mm... mm-mm..."
The boy was similarly tied with ropes and had his mouth taped shut.
He looked to be around elementary school age. The thugs smirked wickedly as they watched the trembling child.
Among them, the one called 'Boss' spoke again.
"Hey, pull the tape off his mouth."
"Got it!"
The bald man called 'Youngest,' and another thug next to him, ripped off the tape.
Riiip.
With the tape removed, the boy could speak.
He opened his mouth, stammering with a tearful voice.
"Pl-pl-please save me... please save me..."
The surrounding thugs scoffed at him, begging with a wet voice.
"Hahahaha! Look at this little guy talking!"
"Hmm... should we spare him? Or not?"
"Boss. Let's just finish them both off."
Another minion made a throat-slitting gesture.
The boy's face turned white at the sight, and Lee Ha-yul below him thrashed wildly.
"Mmmph!!! Mmmph!!!"
"Hmmmm... hey, grab that girl."
"Yep."
"Yep!"
Two other minions nearby grabbed her as she thrashed.
The one called 'Boss' grinned sinisterly and opened his mouth.
"Hey, hey, you little bitch... it looks like this boy is really precious to you, huh?"
Having said that, he pulled out a knife and held it to the boy's throat.
"If you committed a sin... you'll have to pay for it, won't you? Hmm? Let's see... looks like he's your brother, right?"
"Mmmph!!!"
"Oh, you're thrashing around, so I guess he is?"
"H-h-help me...."
"Alright, then. Should I spare him?"
Having said that, the 'Boss' smirked.
At the same time, he raised his knife high.
"I'll spare your sister. But you, you'll die for your sister's sins. Hey, he's dying because of you. Understand?"
"Mmmph!!! Mmmph!!!"
"H-h-heeeek..."
"Goodbye."
The man's knife was poised to strike down at the boy.
And at that very moment.
CRASH-BOOM-BANG-ROAR-!
"Aargh!"
"What the hell?!"
The house door was utterly annihilated, and a tremendous roar echoed.
"....?"
The man who was about to stab the child with his knife, scowled at the sudden turn of events, shoved Lee Ha-yul's brother aside, and stood up.
"What son of a bitch is screwing with us when we're having fun?"
"Boss, I'll go check it out!"
At this, the man called 'Youngest,' who had just threatened her younger brother, headed towards the door.
"Who the hell are you?!"
The 'Youngest' shouted loudly as he stepped outside.
He strode forward confidently, as if nothing in the world could scare him.
BANG.
He was suddenly hit in the head by a flying bullet.
And instantly collapsed on the spot.
"Damn it!!!"
"Everyone, get your guns out! Youngest is down!"
Suddenly, in the cramped room, they hastily pulled out guns from their pockets.
Soon, as they assumed their combat stances and aimed their guns towards the door.
Flicker- Flicker-
Suddenly, the light illuminating the room began to flicker on and off, growing bright then dim.
"What the hell... what is this...."
The flickering light finally went out.
And the house was enveloped in pitch-black darkness.
Suddenly, they couldn't see an inch in front of them.
Swallowing hard, they aimed their guns towards the door.
The house became eerily silent. Only the sound of her younger brother sobbing from the back could be heard.
As they tensed their bodies, preparing for a battle that could erupt at any moment.
From the direction of the door, heavy footsteps began to approach.
"Everyone, fire!!!!"
At the sudden sound, the leader of the thugs screamed hysterically.
Immediately after his command, everyone standing fired their guns towards the door.
Brrrrrrt.
The room was instantly filled with gunshots.
The sound of gunfire echoed loudly, rivaling the previous roar.
The doorway was almost completely destroyed, covered in a thick cloud of dust and smoke.
"Hmph... did we get him?"
One of the minions in the back muttered.
As soon as he spoke, the lights that had gone out in the room flickered back on briefly.
FLASH.
And with it, what they saw was.
A black outfit and cloak covering his entire body.
A black magician's hat.
And a man standing with a faint smile, wearing a mask that covered half his face.
They recognized the man's identity from just that brief glimpse.
That was clearly the villain who always appeared in the news—
The light that had briefly come on instantly went out again.
They saw the strangely dressed man still standing, despite all the gunfire they'd unleashed.
Seeing this, the leader shrieked hysterically.
"FIRE!!!!!"
And so, in the dark room, gunshots echoed once more.
In that pitch-black space where they couldn't see in front or even beside them.
"Ugh."
One of the men firing his gun cried out his last breath and collapsed.
"Geunchul! Dammit...!"
Gritting his teeth, the leader continued to fire his gun frantically forward.
However, even as he kept firing, his subordinates beside him fell one by one, screaming their last.
Eventually, the last remaining subordinate fell.
And in this now silent place, the only sound of gunfire came from the gun in his own hand.
"Argh... DAMN IIIIT!!!"
Gritting his teeth, he desperately fired his gun, but.
Click. Click.
Even if his gun was modified to hold a lot of bullets.
It eventually ran out of ammunition.
"D-damn it..."
He then gripped the knife he had dropped earlier.
Stumbling backward, he retreated.
"D-damn it. Get lost, you son of a bitch!! Get out!!!"
As he screamed like a madman, staring ahead.
The lights flickered once more, then came on fully.
The room was drenched in blood.
The thugs who had been standing moments ago, debating whether to kill the siblings, now lay scattered across the room as corpses.
And in the midst of that horrific scene, a man stood quietly.
He casually brushed off the blood on his black clothes with one hand, holding only a single pistol in the other.
"D-damn it. Don't come any closer, you bastard!"
The leader, who had been screaming like a madman and brandishing his knife, stumbled backward away from the black-clad man, then suddenly noticed something.
As soon as he saw it, the leader snatched it up faster than anyone.
"D-don't move! If you move, I'll kill him right here!"
What he picked up was none other than Lee Ha-yul's younger brother, who lay tied on the floor.
The leader held the knife to the boy's throat, threatening him.
And as if the threat had worked, the man who was slowly approaching paused.
"That's right! Stay still, and put the gun down on the floor right now!"
As he screamed, the man, Egotistic, quietly placed his gun on the floor.
As Egotistic fully lowered the gun to the floor and stood up again, the leader, who had been watching him, brightened momentarily.
"Damn it, fine! Now get the hell ou—"
And before he could finish his sentence.
From behind Egotistic, a gun floated up from seemingly nowhere.
And before the leader could even notice it, it instantly fired.
"...t..."
A hole was cleanly punched through the forehead of the man who had been speaking so confidently.
He then collapsed on the spot, along with the boy he was holding in his hand.
"...."
And so, all the thugs who had invaded Lee Ha-yul's home were dead.
Only Lee Ha-yul, tied up with her mouth taped shut on the side, her brother sitting on the floor, and the silent man in black remained.
Behind him, only the blood-soaked house was visible.
"....."
A chilling silence fell, where neither the man, nor the girl, nor the child uttered a single word.
Just as the girl lying on the floor was about to try something, anything.
In the quiet house, her younger brother, who was on the floor, suddenly opened his mouth and spoke.
"Ma-mangostick...?"
And that was a remark utterly out of place for the atmosphere.
***
'Huh...?'
For a moment, I doubted my ears.
The house I had suddenly stormed into, turning it into a bloodbath.
Lee Ha-yul, lying collapsed nearby, was looking at me with eyes filled with terror, as if I were a serial killer.
This isn't how it's supposed to be...!!
Just as I was wondering how to navigate this awkward situation.
Lee Ha-yul's younger brother, lying on the floor, who I never imagined would speak first, opened his mouth.
'He's suddenly saying "Mangostick" here?'
Wondering what on earth he meant, I looked at her younger brother.
Despite the blood-soaked surroundings, a sight unfit for the elderly, infirm, or pregnant, the kid's eyes sparkled as he looked at me.
Oh?
'This... could this be?'